British Post Offices in the

Levant: 1857–1923
A postal history synopsis by Alexios Papadopoulos

T his article attempts to give a brief synopsis of the British Post Offices that operated in
the Levant. It deals with the postal history of the area rather than the stamps issued.
All illustrations are taken from the author’s collection.
1914. The rest of the offices closed down
on 30 September 1914, when it became
clear that Turkey would join forces with
Great Britain was among the Powers that operated their own Post Offices on sovereign Germany in World War I. In 1919, the
Turkish territory in the 19th century. This anomaly of national post offices operating in British re-established civilian post offices in
the Ottoman Empire was due to the so-called Capitulations, a name given specifically to Smyrna and Constantinople. The former
treaties between Christian states and Moslem countries. The term ‘Levant’ is used to de- was burned down in the destruction of
scribe the Ottoman Ports. Smyrna in September 1922, while the latter
A civilian British Post Office was first es- dependent on the postal routes employed closed permanently in September 1923.
tablished in Constantinople in 1857, taking in each case. The UPU approved certain
over from the Army Post Office which was international rates as from 1 July 1875 and The pre-war post offices
set up there a couple of years earlier to cater the rate situation was simplified. The basic Constantinople 1857–1914
for the needs of the British Army fighting foreign letter rates thus became: 2½d. (or Opened on 1 July 1857—closed on 30
in the Crimea. In the following years, four 40 Paras = 1 Piastre) per ½ oz. From 1 Octo- September 1914. Ordinary British stamps
more offices were opened in the Levant: ber 1907, while the first 20g. remained at 1 were used until April 1885 when new over-
Smyrna in 1872 (now Izmir in Turkey) Piastre, each subsequent 20g. was reduced printed stamps in Turkish currency were
Beyrout in 1873 to 30 Paras. These rates, remained virtually issued. A wide variety of handstamps were
Stamboul in 1885—a Constantinople unchanged throughout the period covered employed: circular, barred ‘killers’, instruc-
sub-office in this article, the exception being the Con- tional, etc. This was by far the largest Brit-
Salonica in 1900 (now Thessaloniki in stantinople PO in its post-war period. ish post office in the Levant, with a business
Greece) The Balkan Wars of 1912-13 saw the an- volume that exceeded 50 per cent of all
Communication in the early years was nexation of Salonica to Greece. The Greek offices. It effectively took over the Army
achieved by the use of steamers via Mar- authorities allowed the office to remain post office which was established during
seilles and Brindisi, the Lloyd Austriaco open, until its closure in early November the Crimean War.
and the French Messageries Maritimes
attracting the lion’s share of the postal
contracts. When the railway line between
Constantinople and Vienna was completed
in 1889, railway became the dominant
means for the transportation of mail.
Postal rates before the Universal Postal
The postal rates before the Universal
Postal Union (UPU) agreement in 1875
Union agreement in 1875 are rather
are rather complex as they are directly complex
Fig 1 (left) 7 December 1864: Constantinople to London
registered triple rate letter via French packet to Marseilles
paying 2s. (6d. per ¼oz + 6d. registration fee). Elusive
‘REGISTERED’ handstamp applied in Constantinople

Fig 2 13 February 1897: Constantinople to

Dresden (16.2.97 arrival backstamp) paying a
total of 15 Piastres for a 14th rate registered
item

G.S.M. June 2010 55

Smyrna 1872–1914
Opened in December 1872—closed on 30
September 1914. The Smyrna F87 ‘killer’
is found used up to the summer of 1897.
A wide variety of the usual single-ring date-
stamps are to be found, as well as a fair
number of instructional handstamps. This
was a large office, second only to Constan-
tinople, generating about 25 per cent of
the total revenue of the British Levant Post
Offices.

Beyrout 1873–1914
Opened in March 1873—closed on 30
September 1914. The Beyrout G06 ‘killer’
is found used up to 1883. Apart from the
usual circular datestamps, a hooded circle
was also used, this being unique among the
Levant POs.

Fig 3 14 September 1883: Smyrna to

Montreal (3.10) via London and Liverpool
(21.9), 2d. postal stationery registered
envelope franked with Great Britain 1½d.
Venetian red and 6d. on 6d. lilac to make
up the total rate of 9½d. for a triple-rate
registered letter (2½d.×3 for a 1½ oz
letter + 2d. registration fee)

Fig 4 (above) 15 November 1913:

Smyrna to Leeds via Brindisi ‘Parcel
Post Customs Declaration’ form for
cheese of a commercial value of
5 shillings franked with a total of
16 Piastres. On arrival at the GPO in
London a ‘SMYRNA FOREIGN AND
COLONIAL PARCEL POST’ label was
applied for accounting purposes
indicating inland postage of 9d.

Fig 5 (right) 13 February 1875:

Beyrout to Paris via the French Post
Office at Alexandria, ¼ oz entire letter
showing a combination of British and
French postage 2d.+80c. The French
dotted ‘5080’ cancellation is that of
Alexandria. Red boxed PD (Paid to
Destination) applied in the French PO
at Alexandria. The sender had to pay
the English steamer rate of 2d. per
½oz to Alexandria plus the rate of the
French packet between Alexandria and
Marseilles at 80c. per ¼ oz

Fig 6 (bottom right) 25 February 1907:

Beyrout to London postal stationery
registered envelope at double rate
showing first month use of the
provisional registration label

56 G.S.M. June 2010

Stamboul (1885–1914)
Opened in April 1885, the British post of-
fice in Stamboul was actually a sub-office of
the main Constantinople PO. No mail from
this office is to be found between 25 August
1896 (closed due to anti-Armenian riots)
and 9 February 1908 (re-opened). Closed
permanently on 30 September 1914. The
smallest British PO in the Levant.

Salonica 1900–1914
Opened on 1 May 1900 as a result of
continuous efforts on the part of the Brit-
ish community and merchants, and espe-
cially of David Allatini, the most prominent
banker and merchant of the city.
In the beginning the Sublime Porte did
not recognise the British PO in Salonica,
and up until the summer of 1901 the PO
was not allowed to board its mail on the
train service to Europe, thus making it nec-
essary for the PO to hire a guard to carry
the mailbag to the Austrian frontier, where Fig 7 14 June 1887: Stamboul to San Francisco (3.7), triple rate registered postal
it was finally loaded on the train. stationery envelope via London (18.6) and New York (27.6). The earliest documented
The office continued to function after use of the 40 Paras/2½d. Jubilee stamp, which could represent a first day use
the Greek occupation of the city in Novem-
ber 1912, and closed down in late October
1914.

Fig 8 (left) 16 July 1902: Salonica to

Manchester (21.7), registered sample
without value cover posted too late and
so dispatched with the following day’s
mails (17.7), hence the ‘TOO LATE’
cachet. Rate: 1d. minimum Sample post
+ 40 Paras registration fee

Fig 9 (below) 13 October 1914: Serbian

Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Salonica
(in exile during World War I) to The
Times in London (23.10), triple-rate
registered express letter. Unique

G.S.M. June 2010 57

 Fig 10 A parcel post label from The post-war post offices
Constantinople dated 1 May 1920 at Constantinople (1919–1923)
1s.8d.
Following the signing of Armistice with
Turkey in October 1918 at the end of
World War I, British troops occupied Con-
stantinople. By mid-November the Army
Post Office was established and on 4 Febru-
ary 1919 the APO was opened to civilians.
Civilian mail was censored until October/
November 1919. The stamps used were the
current British ones. From July 1920 the PO
passed to civilian control. In August 1921,
due to the declining value of the Piastre
against the Pound, the British stamps were
surcharged in Turkish currency. The office
closed in September 1923.

Smyrna (1919–1923)
Re-opened in March 1919 by the enterprise
of Captain Dixon, a Royal Navy officer.
Current British stamps were used, but in
the early months one can also find the pre-
war issues in Turkish currency. The 1921
Constantinople surcharges are not to be
found used in Smyrna. The city was handed
over to Greek rule on 15 May 1919 and re-
mained so until the re-capturing of the city
by the Turkish armed forces in September
1922. In that month the PO was burned
down and permanently closed following
the destruction of the city.

The 1921
Constantinople
surcharges are not
Fig 11 30 July 1923: Constantinople to Basra, single rate registered letter at 15
Piastres with additional airmail fee 6d. per oz. Carried to Egypt by surface mail, to be found used in
airmail from Cairo to Baghdad (19.8) and surface again to Basra (21.8). The flight
between Cairo and Baghdad usually took two days Smyrna

Fig 12 14 February 1922: Smyrna to

Dresden, single-rate registered cover
showing a fine use of the elusive 2½d.
dull Prussian blue SG N21 (17)

58 G.S.M. June 2010